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Ember Equipment Modular Urban Pack

Let’s talk about bags for a minute.

I was never one to judge a person for buying “needlessly expensive” stuff in general.

The truth is, you get what you pay for. and in the world of bags, luxury bags are worth their price tags – in both their [literal] material and subjective (personal and social perception) merits.

I appreciate the luxury bags just like a person who actually spends for them. But personally, I like bags that are built to take a beating. While I think the LVs or Hermes, or other high-end brands are made of the sturdiest of materials that could last a lifetime, 1 Or not, I’m just assuming the best for their given price but let’s be honest – if that luxury bag of yours gets soaked in the rain, wouldn’t your day be ruined?

So let me tell you of the bags that actually get me to pull out my wallet. I’ve got tons of stuff from PacSafe, A bunch of Crumpler bags, an Ergon BC3, too many Lowepro (photography) bags to mention, Victorinox luggage and EDC 2 Everyday carry bags, a tricked out Boblbee Mentor. For my motorcycle riding, I use Kreiga stuff almost exclusively with the exception of a couple of Givi Tanklock stuff.

Now what do these bags say about my preference? That’s right, the first obvious one is that, they too, aren’t necessarily the cheapest you can buy. But one of the reasons they aren’t cheap is that all of them are all built for some serious abuse – and aren’t meant to be coddled.

Thankfully though, even the most expensive bags in that entire lineup don’t even come close to $1,000 – hell maybe not even $600. So I would say I’m definitely one willing to pay a premium, but I prefer the premium to be put in the functionality of the bag, no more, no less.

So let me tell you of a bag I just got, because I went through a considerable amount of effort just to get it. It’s not available in the market (yet) and I’m not sure if it will ever be. 3 I hope it will, as I would want to buy some extra accessories for it I’m talking about the Ember Equipment Pack Read More

Notes

Notes
⇡1 Or not, I’m just assuming the best for their given price
⇡2 Everyday carry
⇡3 I hope it will, as I would want to buy some extra accessories for it
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Matsuda M3023

On April 2013, Iron Man 3 appeared in Philippine theaters. There was a scene where Tony stark was in a room, wearing shielded sunglasses that caught my attention: 1 He actually wore two variants of it: a Silver/Cobalt frame with gradient lens & a Gold/Black frame with solid red lens. He also wore an entirely different model which I didn’t really care for.

Either the internet didn’t have any info on it that night, or I was too stupid to consider searching (probably the latter) – but I finally identified the sunglasses in question two months after. It was a Matsuda M3023.

This is the story of my long wait to acquire these babies… oh and of course a review on them as well 😉 Read More

Notes

Notes
⇡1 He actually wore two variants of it: a Silver/Cobalt frame with gradient lens & a Gold/Black frame with solid red lens. He also wore an entirely different model which I didn’t really care for.
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HDS EDC Custom Rotary

April last year, I decided to buy an LED flashlight. After all, having at least one useful flashlight in one’s life makes sense.

But me being me, I wanted a “premium” one. So naturally, I went to the best enthusiast site of all things “flashlight”, Candle Power Forums.

While it was expected that different folks would prefer different brands/models, one brand that stuck out as being unanimously respected was HDS. So I ordered their EDC Custom Rotary – and after a seven month waiting period, the light finally shipped.

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Pacsafe Lidsafe Anti-Theft Helmet Bag

It’s been a while since I did a product review, so I thought I’d share my thoughts on a product which I feel would be a worthwhile investment for any motorcycle rider.

As you know, I’m a Pacsafe whore. Whenever I need to purchase a bag (or storage apparatus) for a particular need, my first instinct is to check if Pacsafe has got a bag that addresses that specific need. When I started riding, I was pleased to find out that they too had made a very practical “bag” for my use – the Lidsafe Anti-Theft Helmet Bag. Read More

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Minimalist Wallets

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always hated the bulk of traditional wallets, this aversion probably went back as far as highschool. Of course, there were more “important” things that interested me then – so I started being particular about it probably during college.

In any case, it’s been so long that I can’t even remember exactly when I decided to use money clips exclusively. But I do remember my first money clip being a Fossil (brand), with a metal mechanical hinged clip – which a fairly short while due to mechanical failure 1 The pin that held the pivot point fell out, rendering the whole clip useless. I started experimenting with different types of money clips with different types of “clipping” implementations, but soon decided that a mechanical hinge was a really bad idea after my second ever mechanical clip-based Money Clip failed due to the same reasons. Soon, magnetic type clips were out of the picture – as they quickly lose effectivity once you have a thick enough wad of cash.

Turns out the simplest design was, and continues to be the most effective: the single piece clip that relies solely on tension. The only real concern there is if you have a material that can hold it’s shape after being bent. And since then, I’ve always kept my eyes open for the perfect balance of form/function – always willing to try different approaches if the design made sense. My only non-negotiables were:

  1. Cash mush merely be “fastened to” (via clip or otherwise) instead of “stuffed in” – for easy access.
  2. Must accommodate credit cards.

And for the most part, I’ve always found decent money clips that suited my needs. But today, I will attempt to veer away from the “clip” design altogether. I will give a product called the Minimalist a chance.

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Notes

Notes
⇡1 The pin that held the pivot point fell out, rendering the whole clip useless